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Harvest bus stop will stay

The Route 39 bus stop across from the Harvest Co-op Market will no longer be eliminated, according to MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo. The South Street stop had been eliminated under an earlier version of the Route 39 bus renovation plan.

“I think it is fantastic,” said Harvest Co-op spokesperson Chris Durkin when informed of the decision. “I’m glad the MBTA has listened to its riders and users and maintained a vital bus stop for the community.”

The elimination of the Harvest stop was controversial because the MBTA never sought public input and removed a shelter at the stop. The shelter has not been replaced.

The Route 39 renovation plan, which was first proposed in 2008, includes the elimination of some stops and “bump-out” sidewalk extensions and improved amenities like new shelters and benches at others.

Durkin said Harvest had sent the MBTA a customer-signed petition in support of the stop and had joined forces with the Ferris Wheels Bike Shop and the Fresh Hair salon to try to prevent its elimination.

“We worked together to keep a resource that the community needed,” said Durkin.

The long-delayed Route 39 bus renovation was scheduled to begin this spring, but is now set for the fall with completion slated for spring 2013. The most recent delay allowed the MBTA to garner more input from abutters to the project, a criticism the agency received for not doing so when it first unrolled the plan.

The MBTA will hold a meeting on June 12 to present the plan to the public. See JP Agenda listing.